1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a powered garage door opener for powering a garage door between an open and closed position. More particularly, the present invention relates to an electric powered garage door opener having a back drivable electric motor and gear train assembly to provide both powered and manual operation of the garage door between the open and closed positions.
2. Description of Related Art
Garage door openers of the type mounted overhead along the ceiling of a garage are commonly known. These overhead type garage door openers are typically electrically powered and include a screw, belt or chain drive attached directly to the top garage door panel for driving the garage door between an open and closed position. However, overhead type garage door openers are relatively large in size, consume a significant amount of ceiling space within the garage and are difficult to install.
More recently, side mounted or torsion bar mounted garage door openers have become known which mount to the wall adjacent the garage door and couple directly to the rotating torsion bar or shaft supporting the garage door. These side mounted openers are directly coupled to the shaft and rotate the shaft in opposing directions to drive the garage door between the open and closed positions. However, current side mounted garage door openers include complex gear train assemblies driven by large motors to provide sufficient AC powered torque to rotate the shaft and operate the garage door between the open and closed positions.
It is desirable, therefore, to provide an electrically powered garage door opener having a sealed housing and including an electric DC motor and gear train assembly which can power the garage door between the open and closed position and also be back driven to allow manual operation of the door.